Colin Greenwood Says Radiohead Has New Songs Finished

In an online essay on Index on Censorship, Radiohead’s Colin Greenwood revealed that the band has finished work on a new batch of songs and that they are contemplating how to release them.

“…We have just finished another group of songs, and have begun to wonder about how to release them in a digital landscape that has changed again,” Greenwood states. “It seems to have become harder to own music in the traditional way, on a physical object like a CD, and instead music appears the poor cousin of software, streamed or locked into a portable device like a phone or iPod.”

Radiohead’s last LP, In Rainbows, was released digitally, with the band asking for consumers to “pay what you think it’s worth.” The bassist gives no indication of decision, but merely says they are discussing their options.

The essay as a whole is a look at digital rights in the growing Internet age. Even with the incredible growth of the Internet, Greenwood doesn’t buy that it has overtaken the concert venue as a main avenue for musical discussion.

“I’m unconvinced that the Internet has replaced the club or the concert hall as a forum for people to share ideas and passions about music. Social networking models such as Twitter and foursquare are early efforts at this but have some way to go to emulate the ecosystem that labels such as Island drew upon, the interconnected club and studio worlds of managers, musicians, artists and record company mavericks, let alone pay for such a fertile environment.”